It's win or bust for Toshack's brave boys

John Toshack says Wales' World Cup bid will be over if they fail to win at home to Finland and Germany in March.

A 1-0 defeat in Germany last night leaves Wales third in Group Four and boss Toshack said: "If we cannot win those two games then we can forget about qualifying."

Toshack praised his team, particularly West Ham's James Collins, who made his first start for Wales in a year following knee surgery.

He said: "I could not have asked for any more from the lads. I was worried about even putting Collins into the match under such circumstances but he was magnificent."

Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni was not satisfied despite a 1-0 win over Cyprus thanks to a Robbie Keane goal.

The Republic are second in Group Eight but Trapattoni said: "We shouldn't delude ourselves, we need more again to improve."

Northern Ireland striker David Healy is determined to build on his first goal in the qualifiers when the campaign resumes.

Healy scored in a 4-0 win over San Marino and his team travel to the Group Three minnows in February. He said: "There is competition for places so you've got to keep your head down and score goals when you can and win games where possible."